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I have a Benro Travel tripod. Nothing particularly fancy... aluminum, fold up legs, and a decent compact size. The ball head is easy to operate and is able to support my 5Dm3/7D with a 24-70mm f/2.8 without a problem.

You could certainly go fancier/more expensive. but I've had this tripod for a couple years and it's served me pretty well.

you get what you pay for with tripodsI bought a $300 tripod. It's foldable, it's heavier by almost 2 lbs compared to carbon fiber units, the head is not perfect and sags with my 50d and 24-70 2.8 mounted (meaning, I set it at a certain level and droops 1-2mm after I let go of the body).I read this several years and did not follow the advice. I should have. Save up and buy the right one the first time. Now, I am $400 invested and wishing for more; wishing for the $700-800 unit I should have bought to begin with.http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

You are not going to get something good for $300, so prepare to compromise. Our local Costco has some lower end Aluminum Manfroto tripods with head for around $200. I don't see them online, and I only looked at it briefly, since it was not a pro quality unitet, but more of a high end consumer unit. Much better than the junk you find at Walmart.What you want is a tripod with a under hook. Hang your camera bag or other weight on the hook to stabilize the tripod.

All I know is I won't be buying Giottos again. Not just one leg but two have come out in my hand when extending them. Because they used a cheap plastic inner lock deal that evidently easily snaps. I put it back together then used electrical tape on those joints, never to be used again. The ones that haven't failed, well even after tightening the joint screws to the point of almost breaking when clamping down...they still don't stay out and often slide down/in. Not real thrilled with the ballhead I got for it either. Horizontal spin axis knob is all or nothing and damn hard to get tight so it stays. The whole legs coming apart in my hand twice now over a dumb piece of plastic has really turned me off. You look at this piece and how it goes together and what it has to do/support and it's just a real head scratcher they have this plastic inner piece like it is. It was just a bit over $300 for the legs and head so not an expensive route exactly but certainly not the cheapest $50 free with camera tripod deal either. It should take some work to have the tripod legs come apart/out in your hand, not casually extending them down on two different occasions.

Sorry can't say what to get, but figured I'd say what I'm not getting next time around.

Try the 717 ball head tripod, its made by fancier studios and few others. Check ephotoinc(.)com cowboystudio(.)com or fancierstudio(.)com. They all carry the same tripods, ephotoinc is tax free and shipping free. I just got my in last week and it is perfect for the price $144-160.

All I know is I won't be buying Giottos again. Not just one leg but two have come out in my hand when extending them. Because they used a cheap plastic inner lock deal that evidently easily snaps. I put it back together then used electrical tape on those joints, never to be used again. The ones that haven't failed, well even after tightening the joint screws to the point of almost breaking when clamping down...they still don't stay out and often slide down/in. Not real thrilled with the ballhead I got for it either. Horizontal spin axis knob is all or nothing and damn hard to get tight so it stays. The whole legs coming apart in my hand twice now over a dumb piece of plastic has really turned me off. You look at this piece and how it goes together and what it has to do/support and it's just a real head scratcher they have this plastic inner piece like it is. It was just a bit over $300 for the legs and head so not an expensive route exactly but certainly not the cheapest $50 free with camera tripod deal either. It should take some work to have the tripod legs come apart/out in your hand, not casually extending them down on two different occasions.

Sorry can't say what to get, but figured I'd say what I'm not getting next time around.

Have you asked them to fix or replace it? There are often secret warranties that are not advertised. It could have been a bad batch or run. I do not use Gittos, but many have been happy.

I'd recommend the Manfrotto 190XPROB or if you're tall as I am, the Manfrotto 055XPROB. Heavy but reliable. Love it. I've paired mine with a Giottos ballhead which I recall was about $150 and it is also perfectly fine. Both will hold a 70-200L ii and a 5d2 with ease.

I can highly recommend Vanguard's Pro series. Awesome quality, features. Mine never let me down (5D2,7D,60D, 24-70,200,24ts,,etc,) but unfortunately it's not that expensive so it's not the best for showing off. in that case.. ..Feisol makes some awesome stuff..

When I buy I look at these:The tripod's loading capacity, its weight, size (in case travel, transportation), price... being pretty, or having a Name is..well... THEN: I buy the head. Again, the head's loading capacity, weight, size etc..KNOW your NEEDS, the SPECS of the tripod and the head you are looking at, leave a safety margin = No need to complain later.

Agree with piercography's recommendation I have a Benro A2681TB1 which is very, very sturdy and good for the price. It holds up to 12kg. Add a video head and you are good to go. Depending on where you are, the manufacturer offers limited lifetime warranty. Check out their other items and you will be surprised to find out that they are making a lot of affordable quality stuffs.

It seems sturdy enough to me for what I'm currently doing, and the beginner fluid head seems to work well with what I've shot so far...Manfrotto.

I'm sure I'll move up later to one of the better tripods, and heads...but this sure seemed a good deal at the time for a beginner...I'm starting from scratch, my first DSLR (5D3), lenses, mics, etc....I simply couldn't start out with the "porsche" of every item...so, got the best I could afford at the time, and this one seems pretty decent, I like the plate system that comes with it, easy to take off and set back up again quickly.

I would advise against buying a pod/head package. Shop around for each indiviually. Manfrotto makes some good sturdy inexpensive tripods (and heavy), but I don't care for their heads and even less for their quick release systems. I would also advise getting a head that uses arca-swiss type plates. It's a rock solid system that wont tie you down to a particular manufacturer's gear. There are some nice Benro heads that can be had very reasonably on ebay...

Have you asked them to fix or replace it? There are often secret warranties that are not advertised. It could have been a bad batch or run. I do not use Gittos, but many have been happy.

No, I'm generally pretty lazy on things I guess. Found the two halves of the inside clip thing, got it back together and since I had electrical tape in my car I just taped the hell out of it. Every once in awhile I'll find myself cussing at the missing height now. Always gotten by on the real cheap $50 deals and found it humorous this was happening after spending 6x as much. Thinking, well least the legs always stayed together on all those real cheap ones.